Distinguish between a target population, a study population, and a research sample. Give an example of each.

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The Answer is Target population, study population, and research sample are all important concepts in research methodology.

The target population refers to the entire group of individuals or elements that the researcher is interested in studying. This group is often defined by specific characteristics or criteria, such as age, gender, location, or other demographic factors. For example, if a researcher is interested in studying the eating habits of teenagers in the United States, the target population would be all teenagers in the United States.

The study population, on the other hand, is a subset of the target population that the researcher has access to and can feasibly study. This subset is often more narrowly defined and may exclude certain individuals or groups within the target population. Using the previous example, if the researcher only has access to teenagers in a specific city or school district, then that specific group of teenagers would be considered the study population.

Finally, the research sample is the actual group of individuals or elements that are included in the study. This is a smaller subset of the study population that is selected to participate in the research. The sample should be representative of the study population and should be chosen using specific sampling methods to ensure that the findings can be generalized to the larger population. For instance, if the researcher selects 100 teenagers from the specific city or school district as the participants in the study, then that group of 100 teenagers would be the research sample.

In summary, the target population is the entire group of interest, the study population is a subset of the target population that the researcher can study, and the research sample is the specific group of individuals or elements that are included in the research study.

Distinguish Between a Target Population, a Study Population, and a Research